Local Israel beef cuts.

Beef cuts and internal organs - their names and numbers

Hebrew: Helkay Basar - חלקי בשר

beef cuts

Image credit: El Gaucho

Your first few shopping experiences in Israel might have you pulling your hair out. There are many challenges and new food choices - one of them is determining which beef cut is most suited to your favorite recipes from home.

While our parents did their best to give us the best education and when we came out of school we knew for a fact that a cow is a cow, 1 = 1 and 5 = 5, but this is Israel and seemingly logical facts are sometime absurd and the opposite is true. English is read from left to right but we read Hebrew from right to left. In Hebrew "she" is "he" (היא) and "he" is "who" (הוא). And so it is with cuts of meat. In the diaspora the hindquarter was not considered kosher (unless specially prepared) but here in Israel it is. In Israel 1 = 10 and 10 = 18. Enough confusion.

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The names of beef cuts in Israel differ from other parts of the world. In Israel, beef is often sold by number. You may need to ask your butcher for #3 or #5 instead of shoulder or brisket.

Look out for these numbers in the freezer section of the supermarket. To help you along, here is a list of Israeli beef cuts, their name and their equivalents abroad (Thanks - El Gaucho)

Cut #	Local Name in Israel	Equivalent Abroad	Use
#1	Entrecote	#6 Rib, Ribeye, Forerib	Steak, Roast-beef
#2	Tzlaot, Rifaan	#3 & #4 Chuck, Blade	Slow cooking or mincing
#3	Chazeh	#14 Brisket / Clod	Soup or pickling
#4	Katef Mercazi	#16 Silverside, Thick Rib	Slow roasts, stews or mincing
#5	Tzli Katef	#5 & #16 Back Rib	Slow roast or stew
#6	Fillet Medumeh	#16 Foreshank	Slow roast or stew
#7	Shrir, Michaseh HaTzlah	Chuck cover	Mincing
#8	Shrir Hazroar	#15 Shin	Soup, cholent, hamin, osso bucco
#9	Kashtit / Shpundra	Short Rib	Slow cooking, soup, assado
#10	Tsavar	#1 Neck	Soup or mincing
#11	Sinta	#7 Sirloin	Roast-beef or steak
#12	Fillet	#7 Tenderloin, Fillet	Roast-beef or steak
#13	Shaitel	#8 Rump	Escalope, steak, shishlik, roast-beef
#14	Katchah, Avazit	Top Sirloin	Slow roast, stews or mincing
#15	Yarcha / Chuck	#11 Thick Flank, Flank Steak	Stews
#16	Kaf	#9 Topside, Silver-side	Steak, escalopes or roasting
#17	Pladah, Kislayim	#12 Thin Flank	Mincing or rolled beef
#18	Shrir Achori	#10 Shank, Leg	Soup or slow cooking
#19	Rosh HaYerech (Yarcha), Weisbraten	#9 Silverside, Aitchbone	Slow roast or stew

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The Internal Organs - חלקי פנים

Transliteration	Hebrew Name	English Equivalent
Lashon	לשון	Tongue
Kaved	כבד	Liver
Kayvah	קֵבָה	Tripe
Mo'ach	מֹחַ	Brains
Shkeidim	שקדים	Sweetbreads
Raya	רֵאָה	Lung
Klaya	כִּלְיָה	Kidney
Ma'i	מְעִי	Intestine
Lavlav	לַבְלַב	Pancreas
Eshech	אֶשֶׁךְ	Testicle
Lechi	לֶחִי	Beef cheeks
Zanav shor	זנד שור	Oxtail